the stars, they cried
by iamvalthepal
Summary: "But the rain also reminded her that she started over, that she escaped her hell. Rey had washed away the desert and fallen in love with the storm." / DameRey


Her favorite days were the ones drenched in rainfall and tangled with starlight.

She couldn't say that she had gotten accustomed to the humidity of D'Qar, but she had slowly learned when the humidity matured, it became falling drops from the sky.

The days it rained, the majority of the base would hustle back into their rooms or convene in the mess hall to escape the storm. Rey, however, befriended the tempests.

The arid climate of Jakku was unyielding. The sand grated against her skin, hardening her exterior. It scratched the back of her throat and attacked her eyes. The desert was always cruel, making its inhabitants slaves to the hot sun, begging for any kind of relief.

The forests and lakes of D'Qar were not so merciless; it was a refreshing land instead. The clear air breezed over her body and the foliage provided shade for rest. The lakes brought about a dangerous curiosity in her, for she wanted to feel the water overtake her senses but she could not swim. So she settled for the rain.

There was sadness in the rain. Whenever the droplets fell from the sky, Rey thought the sky was crying. The rain knew the skies and the trees and the land, and it also knew Rey. And yet, it seemed so lonely. The rain knew its own value, but no one else seemed to care about it until it left without warning. It gave all it had, but no one loved it back.

But Rey loved the rain. She loved it more than anything she ever knew. The rain was her miracle, a legend she had only heard through whispers on her desert planet. And here she was, able to see that it was more than a myth – it was real.

And so every time it rained, Rey would pay the rain a visit.

Rey heard the rumbles of thunder in the distance and she saw that people were filing back inside the base. The air grew thicker, signaling the coming downpour. The time had come, so she raced to her favorite cliffside overlooking the expanse of the planet. She could see past the dense forest canopies all the way to the navy lakes. She sat herself on a boulder on the verge of falling over the cliff, knees pressed tightly to her chest.

She waited for the rain to come.

Hours passed and Rey began to lose hope that it would ever arrive. The sun was almost completely set and soon she would have to return to the base.

When it finally rained at twilight, Rey's anticipation flowed out of her with a great exhale.

She had never imagined such a beautiful sight: a line of silver piercing the starry blue horizon while the moonrise shimmered through sheets of water. Lightning flashed across the expanse, bathing Rey in a brilliant light.

She stood up from where she was sitting and raised her arms above her head, reaching toward the heavens, relishing the feel of the water gliding down her skin. She would never grow tired of this, of the way the rain purified her, of the way it reminded her of how much beauty had touched her since she left Jakku.

Rey had never connected to something so natural in her life. It was always a battle of survival. She had struggled to scavenge the remnants of lost ships scattered across a desert wasteland for the sake of getting a portion of a portion of a meal. And here, she could just _be._

The rain reminded her of her own solitude on Jakku, where she had barely been a shell of a human, doing only what was required of her to try and move forward.

But the rain also reminded her that she started over, that she escaped her hell. Rey had washed away the desert and fallen in love with the storm.

She was glad she befriended the rain.

* * *

Poe never understood why people shied away from the rain.

Part of the reason he loved that the base was on D'Qar was that it rained so often. The land was lush and plentiful because of it. He thought that maybe the rain was a spirit, watching over them all. It blessed the land, providing water so that it could thrive. It shaped the world, carving canyons and valleys into its surface. It loved the people, cared for them, covered them in rainfall so that it could touch them.

Perhaps the rain was misunderstood, he thought. It seemed harsh and cold when the raindrops slapped against the windows and flooded the lands.

But Poe knew the rain was pure. It cleanses everything in its wake and refreshes even the dullest of things. In his darkest of days, when his mind was clouded with the monsters Kylo Ren had left behind, he could find comfort in the torrential downpour. Somehow, the showers were cathartic, pulling out his demons and laying them to waste.

So every time it rained, Poe would pay the rain a visit.

It was a particularly muggy day. The sky was blanketed in gray and the moisture seemed to cling to every inch of the region. Poe could sense the coming squall.

He used to fly his X-Wing in the showers, but after barely making it through a lightning storm, he opted to find a safer option. He explored the area around the base, coming across a clearing that led to a cliff. The spot was perfect for enjoying the company of the rain, so he settled himself at the base of a tree to wait for the coming event.

A few minutes later, he saw Rey jogging over to a boulder close to the edge. She had a look of anticipation, and Poe found his curiosity piqued. She sat on the boulder, arms clutched around her knees, eyes wide open.

He thought about yelling her name to catch her attention, but with her so close to the brim of the landscape, he decided against it. Instead, he resolved to watch her in place of the coming thunderstorm.

The wonder he saw in her eyes when the rain finally graced them with its presence burned itself into his memory. He could stare at her in this moment for eternity. She looked ethereal, smiling in the rain with moonlight dancing across her shoulder. Her glee at being soaked from head to toe was infectious and soon he was smiling like she was.

He thanked the rain, for he found something as lovely as the rain itself.


End file.
